Emoticon input method for mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

There is provided a method of easily inputting icons representing user emotions (emoticons). In the emoticon input method in a mobile terminal, a plurality of 5 emoticons, formed by utilizing a plurality of typical characters and special characters in combination, are grouped and stored by groups in the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal enters an emoticon input mode, displays the stored emoticon groups, displays the emoticons of an emoticon group selected by a user, stores an emoticon selected by the user, and transmits an SMS message including at least one emoticon selected by the user.

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 10/002,919 filed on Nov. 15, 2001, and claims priority to anapplication entitled “Emoticon Input Method for Mobile Terminal” filedin the Korean Industrial Property Office on Dec. 16, 2000 and assignedSerial No. 2000-77441, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a mobile terminal, and inparticular, to a method of easily inputting icons that representemotions (emoticons) of a user.

2. Description of the Related Art

In addition to telephone calls, a mobile terminal can provide a varietyof additional functions such as an SMS (Short Message Service). The SMSenables short text messages to be exchanged between terminals (orcomputers) regardless of whether the terminal of the other party is busyor not. The relatively high cost of voice calls makes the SMScost-effective enough to substitute for the voice calls. A user inputs atext message using the keys of the keypad on the terminal and transmitsit via the SMS.

The SMS, however, limits a Korean text message to 40 characters, as wellas limits the text message in other languages. Moreover only a fewspecific small keys are used to input the text message. Therefore, greatamounts of time and effort are needed to input even a short message andoften the short message becomes an abbreviation of what a user intendsto express in the first place.

In an attempt to solve this problem, a mobile terminal may provide avariety of special characters along with the standard characters anddigits. The characters and digits would vary with the programmedlanguage, e.g., Korean, English, etc. FIG. 1 illustrates input modessupported by the conventional mobile terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, themobile terminal displays available characters/digits in each input mode.

The illustrated mobile terminal of FIG. 1 also has a shortcoming in thata user must input a special character in a very complicated procedure(i.e., mode conversion, entry of an intended special character, input ofkey [CONFIRM], and etc.). Therefore, the conventional mobile terminalhas limitations in the input of characters or symbols which can readilyrepresent the emotions of a user in the form of an icon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide anemoticon input method in a mobile terminal, which enables a user toeasily input icons that represent his emotions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an emoticoninput method in a mobile terminal, which enables a user to easily entera plurality of icons that represent his emotions by use of a series ofspecial characters.

The foregoing and other objects are achieved by providing a method ofeasily inputting icons representing user emotions (emoticons). In theemoticon input method in a mobile terminal, a plurality of emoticons,formed by utilizing a plurality of typical characters and specialcharacters in combination, are grouped and stored by groups in themobile terminal. The mobile terminal enters an emoticon input mode,displays the stored emoticon groups, displays the emoticons of anemoticon group selected by a user, stores an emoticon selected by theuser, and transmits an SMS message including at least one emoticonselected by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates input modes supported in a conventional mobileterminal;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile terminal to which thepresent invention is applied;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an emoticon input operation accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates operational displays of the mobile terminal accordingto the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates groups of emoticons according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thefollowing description, well-known functions or constructions are notdescribed in detail since they would obscure the invention inunnecessary detail.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile terminal to which thepresent invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 2, a mobile terminal 10 includes a transmitter 11 witha modulator 21 and transmission amplifier 31 and a receiver 12 with areception amplifier 32 and a demodulator 22 in order to exchange signalswith a mobile communication system (not shown) that has a base station,an MSC (Mobile Switching Center), and an SMS center. Also shown isantenna ANT.

A display 16 outputs display data and text messages generated in themobile terminal 10. An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) can be used as thedisplay 16. A key input portion 17 has a plurality of digit/characterkeys, function keys for user interfacing, and keys for voice calls. Akeypad can be used as the key input portion 17.

A controller 13 includes a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), amicroprocessor, and other circuits that controls the transmitter 11 andthe receiver 12 to allow the user to conduct a voice call with anotheruser through a speaker 14 and a microphone 15. The controller 100 alsoperforms an emoticon input operation according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

A storage 18 is comprised of a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (RandomAccess Memory) for storing programs and data, and a voice memory. Thestorage 18 stores an operation program for inputting emoticons and aplurality of emoticons in the form of a bit map according to theembodiment of the present invention. The plurality of emoticons arestored by groups in the storage 18 to facilitate selection of emoticons.

An emoticon is defined as a hieroglyphic character that is formed usinga plurality of typical characters or special characters in combinationto represent a user's emotions. The term “emoticon” is a compound wordof emotion and icon (an image representing a computer program function).Emoticons are part of a language unique to cyber space, by whichemotions, symbols, personalities, jobs, and objects are represented byusing characters, symbols, and digits available on the keyboard of acomputer. They are widely used in cyber space since they are easilyunderstood and easily facilitate a description of an expression ofsubtle emotions of a user.

Emoticons are usually divided into two categories: oriental ones usedamong Asians including Koreans and Japanese, and occidental ones mainlyused in the U.S. and 10 Europe. Vertical hieroglyphics prevail in theformer case, whereas horizontal ones prevail in the latter case.Therefore, storage 18 stores oriental or occidental emoticons accordingto the cultural area of a user.

In general, 2000 emoticons are used respectively in Asia and the U.S. &Europe and up to 50 emoticons are standardized. To ease selection,emoticons are stored by groups in a mobile terminal. Emoticon groups canbe formed as shown below, for example:

1. facial expression:happiness/smile/greeting/love/nonsense/sleep/depression/ 20shyness/tears/anger/fear/etc.

2. person: race/character/profession

3. animals: rabbit/cat/dog/ape/pig/goat/cow/rat

4. reptiles, amphibia: tadpole/frog/snake

5. fishes: goldfish/small octopus/shrimp/squid/sea horse/crab

6. insect: dragonfly/butterfly

7. plants: white rose/black rose/bouquet/tree

8. food: sushi/noodle/hamburger/Pepsi/Coke/candies

9. characters: Pikachu/Teletubbies

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an emoticon input procedure accordingto the present invention and FIG. 4 illustrates operational displays ina mobile terminal according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a user enters an emoticon input mode bymanipulating keys in a mobile terminal in step S10. The mobile terminalsequentially displays pre-stored emoticon group names as a user scrollsthrough a menu in step S20 and determines whether the user has entered agroup select key in step S30. If a key other than a group select key isinput in step S30, the mobile terminal performs an operationcorresponding to the key input in step S35. Upon input of the groupselect key in step S30, the mobile terminal sequentially displays theemoticons of the selected group as a user scrolls through a menu in stepS40. In step S50, the mobile terminal determines whether the user hasentered an emoticon select key. If the user enters a key other than anemoticon select key, the mobile terminal performs an operationcorresponding to the key input in step S35. Upon input of an emoticonselect key, the mobile terminal stores as part of a short message anemoticon selected by the input emoticon select key in step S60.

Referring to FIG. 4, a procedure of displaying an emoticon representinga smile will be described. When the user invokes a message managementfunction by pressing a predetermined key, for example, a message hotkey, a display 1 is provided. If the user selects “2. outgoing message”by manipulating a directional key or a digit key in the display 1, adisplay 2 is provided. Then, if the user selects “2. write mail” in thedisplay 2, a display 3 is provided. If the user selects “1. write newtext” in the display 3, a display 4 is provided.

When the user presses a predetermined input mode conversion key, forexample, [MENU], a display 5 is provided. The display 5 displays theother input modes available from the mobile terminal, that is, anEnglish capital input mode, an English small input mode, a specialcharacter input mode, and an emoticon input mode. If the user selects“emoticon” in the display 5, the mobile terminal enters the emoticoninput mode (S10 of FIG. 3) and displays the names of pre-stored emoticongroups, that is, smile, love, happiness, greeting, and etc. in a display6 (S20 in FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 illustrates emoticon groups according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the emoticons are grouped intosmile, love, happiness, greeting, and fear, though only the emoticonsfor smile and love are shown.

If the user selects “smile” in the display 6 by manipulating aleft/right directional key, emoticons that belong to the group “smile”are displayed in a display 7. When the user chooses one of the “smile”emoticons “̂.̂” in the display 7, the selected emoticon is stored as partof the short message as shown in a display 8. Then, the user can input atext including typical characters, special characters, or emoticonswithin the range of a transmittable SMS message, by changing inputmodes.

After an intended text is completed, the user instructs the mobileterminal to transmit the SMS message including the emoticon “̂.̂”. Thatis, when the user finishes the SMS message writing by pressing a key[CONFIRM], enters the telephone number of the other party, and thenpresses the key [CONFIRM], the mobile terminal transmits the storedmessage. After transmission of the message, the mobile terminal canstore the transmitted message according to user control and then returnsto an initial phone display.

Emoticons can be subdivided into upper groups and lower groups. Theupper groups can be expression, person, animals, reptiles/amphibia,fish, insect, plants, food, and characters. For the upper group“expression”, the lower groups can be smile/love/happiness/fear.

A plurality of emoticons are pre-stored in a mobile terminal so that auser easily select an intended emoticon in the present invention. Inanother embodiment, the user can add hieroglyphics to basic emoticonsstored by a manufacturer. The hieroglyphics can be stored in three ways:the user directly stores them, receives them from a base station and thestores them, or downloads them from the Internet. The user can changeand edit the emoticons stored in the mobile terminal.

The present invention has the following advantages:

(1) The present invention increases interest in writing a message,outgrowing the simplicity of transmission of only a text message byfacilitating input of hieroglyphics without the need of selectingspecial characters, special symbols, and digits one by one, andfacilitating storage of the hieroglyphics.

(2) Emoticon messages are written in a shorter time than writing a textmessage as well as forming hieroglyphics by selecting specialcharacters, symbols, and digits one by one, because emoticon groups areeffectively classified and their indexes are used in writing theemoticon messages. The emoticon input method of the present inventiongives a great satisfaction to users due to its convenience andoriginality.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to acertain preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

1. An emoticon input method adapted for a mobile terminal, comprisingthe steps of: entering an emoticon input mode; displaying storedemoticons in the emoticon input mode, wherein the emoticons are createdby utilizing a plurality of characters in combination and wherein theemoticons are stored in the mobile terminal; selecting at least oneemoticon from the stored emoticons by a user; and storing as part of ashort message the at least one emoticon selected by the user.
 2. Theemoticon input method of claim 1, wherein the emoticons are stored by amanufacturer during manufacturing.
 3. The emoticon input method of claim1, wherein the emoticons are created and stored by the user.
 4. Theemoticon input method of claim 1, wherein the emoticons are receivedfrom one of a base station and the Internet and stored in the mobileterminal.
 5. The emoticon input method of claim 1, further comprisingchanging and editing the emoticons by the user.
 6. An emoticon inputmethod in a mobile terminal, comprising the steps of: entering anemoticon input mode; displaying a list of emoticon groups; selecting anemoticon group from the list according to an input of a user; displayingemoticons included in the selected emoticon group; selecting at leastone emoticon from the displayed emoticons according to an input of theuser; and storing as part of a short message an emoticon selected by theuser; wherein the emoticons are created by utilizing a plurality ofcharacters in combination and wherein the emoticons are stored in themobile terminal.
 7. The emoticon input method of claim 6, furthercomprising: creating, by the user, the at least one emoticon; andgrouping the at least one emoticon and storing the grouped emoticons asthe emoticon group in the mobile terminal.
 8. The emoticon input methodof claim 6, further comprising: creating, by the user, the at least oneemoticon; and storing the at least one emoticon in the emoticon groupselected by the user among the emoticon groups comprised of previouslygrouped emoticons according to a specific reference.
 9. The emoticoninput method of claim 7, wherein the emoticons are received from one ofa base station and the Internet and stored in the mobile terminal. 10.The emoticon input method of claim 7, further comprising changing andediting the emoticons by the user.
 11. A mobile terminal for inputtingan emoticon, the mobile terminal comprising: a display; a storage forstoring emoticons, wherein the emoticons are created by utilizing aplurality of characters in combination; and a controller for entering anemoticon input mode, displaying the stored emoticons on the display inthe emoticon input mode, selecting at least one emoticon from thedisplayed emoticons according to an input of the user, and storing aspart of a short message the at least one emoticon selected by the inputof the user.
 12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the emoticonsare stored in the storage by a manufacturer during manufacturing. 13.The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the emoticons are created andstored by the user.
 14. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein theemoticons are received from one of a base station and the Internet andstored in the mobile terminal.
 15. The mobile terminal of claim 11,wherein the controller changes and edits the emoticons according to aninput of the user.
 16. A mobile terminal for inputting an emoticon, themobile terminal comprising: a display; a storage for storing emoticonsand a list of emoticon groups, wherein the emoticons are created byutilizing a plurality of characters in combination; and a controller forentering an emoticon input mode, displaying the list, selecting anemoticon group from the list according to an input of a user, displayingemoticons included in the selected emoticon group, selecting at leastone emoticon from the displayed emoticons according to an input of theuser, and storing as part of a short message the at least one emoticonselected by the user.
 17. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein thecontroller creates the at least one emoticon according to an input ofthe user, groups the at least one emoticon, and stores the groupedemoticons as the emoticon group in the mobile terminal.
 18. The mobileterminal of claim 16, wherein the controller creates the at least oneemoticon according to an input of the user, and stores the at least oneemoticon in the emoticon group selected by the user among the emoticongroups comprised of previously grouped emoticons according to a specificreference.
 19. The mobile terminal of claim 17, wherein the emoticonsare received from one of a base station and the Internet and stored inthe mobile terminal.
 20. The mobile terminal of claim 17, wherein thecontroller changes and edits the emoticons according to an input of theuser.